Until You Met Me

“Remind me, why does Sofia never host?”

Molly, who’d been reaching up to collect a pair of glasses from inside of a cupboard, rolled her eyes slightly at Gerard’s comment before she turned around, offering him a playfully flat look. He was joking. When she had mentioned the other woman’s impending visit a few days previous, Gerard’s response had been to point out that it had been a while since she and Sofia had had one of their nights in, and to enthusiastically reassure Molly that he didn’t mind making himself scare for a couple of hours, but it hadn’t stopped him from complaining, even if Molly had insisted that he didn’t have to leave. He liked to pretend that it bothered him, even if he was always the one who insisted on giving Molly and her friends their privacy.

“Because she has a daughter and a husband to make scarce” Molly answered “I just have you, and I don’t think I could bribe you to stick around if my friends are here” she added.

Gerard shrugged, a teasing smile on his face. “It depends on what you’re prepared to offer” he quipped.

Molly offered him another flat look, something which caused Gerard to hold his hands up innocently. Shaking her head, Molly huffed out a soft laugh before she stepped around him, retrieving a bottle from inside of the fridge. “You’re not going to be missing much” she said “We’re going to have dinner, and maybe spend an hour trying to figure out the seating chart conundrum, but Sofi can’t stay for too long. She’s got an early start tomorrow” she added.

Gerard nodded his head slowly, not missing the disappointment in her voice, but he didn’t comment on it. It wasn’t the first time that he had heard it. Unlike Molly when Sofia had been planning her wedding, Sofia hadn’t been able to drop everything to help Molly plan theirs, and without Ava, who Molly barely even mentioned in conversation, it meant Molly had done a lot of the planning alone, something he knew bothered her, even if she insisted it didn’t. She was excited. Their wedding was the biggest thing that had ever happened to either of them, and Molly wanted someone, other than him and their families, to share the excitement with.

“Does that mean I only have to make myself scarce for an hour or so?” Gerard chirped, offering her an impish smile.

Molly made a show of rolling her eyes again, something which caused Gerard to laugh gently before he stepped towards her, wrapping her in a soft hug. Molly stilled, momentarily caught off guard by the hug, but after a couple of seconds of hesitation, she sunk into it. “What’s this for?” she mumbled.

Gerard ducked his head, gently burying his nose in her hair before he kissed the top of her head. “Do I need a good reason to hug you?” he asked.

“No” Molly replied “Doesn’t mean you don’t have one, though” she added.

Gerard smiled into her hair. “You just looked like you could use a hug” he mused “And I like to think that I am pretty good at giving them” he added.

Molly tightened her arms around his waist, reluctant to break the embrace. “You are” she said.

Gerard kissed the top of her head again before he drew back, smiling at her gently. “I’m going to go” he quipped “Have fun tonight” he added.

“I’m sure I will” Molly said.

“Do I need to worry about Sofia trying to set you up with anyone in my absence?” Gerard teased.

The slightly tentative smile on Molly’s face brightened before she let out a laugh, something which made Gerard grin to himself as he turned and walked out of the room. He knew that Molly had started to notice Ava’s absence more and more. In the immediate aftermath of what had happened, she had been adamant that she didn’t even want to talk about her, but slowly and surely, her absence from Molly’s life had become more noticeable, and Gerard knew that Molly missed her, even if he was absolutely certain that she would never admit it. Ava was the friend who would have been all over their wedding plans, the person that Molly could have talked to about anything and everything, and now that she wasn’t there, Molly missed her.

~#~
“Shouldn’t it be really easy for you and Gerard to put together a seating chart?”

Molly, who was studying the list of names in front of her, lifted her head slightly to offer Sofia a slightly amused smirk. “You’re one to talk” she quipped “Your guest list was much shorter than this one, and we agonised for months on where to sit everyone” she added.

“My family and Seb’s have never gotten along” Sofia countered “But the way you tell it, your parents and Gerard’s have basically been counting down to this day since you were kids” she added.

“They’re not that excited” Molly countered, rolling her eyes slightly.

Sofia scoffed out a laugh. “Really?” she asked incredulously.

Molly tried, and failed, to hide her smile, something which made Sofia grin before she leant forwards, sliding the guest list out from in front of her. For a little while, they sat and worked through the guest list, placing each name they reached into a spot on the diagram in front of them, before Sofia’s phone, which was sat on the coffee table in between them, buzzed, drawing both of their stares towards it. When Molly saw whose name was on the screen, the happy expression on her face dimmed slightly, something which caused Sofia to smile apologetically before she declined the call, settling the phone back onto the table.

“Sorry” Sofia murmured.

Molly was quick to shake her head, refocussing on the diagram in front of her. “You don’t have to apologise” she said “You guys are still friends, even if she and I aren’t” she added.

Sofia opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, second guessing what she was going to say, before she looked down at her lap. “She and Jack are still together” she said “They’re actually having a baby” she added.

For a moment, Molly forced herself not to react. She didn’t want to say the first thing that had crossed her mind out loud. Instead, she drew in a deep breath and forced a smile as she looked over at Sofia. “Give her my congratulations?” she mused.

Sofia nodded. “She misses you” she said tentatively.

“Then maybe she shouldn’t have made a move on my boyfriend” Molly’s face still held her forced smile, but her tone was sharp.

Sofia didn’t say anything else. She returned her attention to the seating chart in front of her, and slowly, Molly joined in, but the tension didn’t disappear. When it came to Ava, and what had happened between her and Gerard, Molly was pretty sure that the tension was going to be around for a very long time to come.